Animal of the Week: Jan 29, 2013 -- Carry on animal

Well, the snowfall in the UK seems like a distant memory now doesn't it? But wasn't it wonderful? Sure we grumbled. And we stood forlorn on platforms wearing Ugg boots or other unsuitable footwear soaking up the puddles of slush, waiting for trains that we knew would never come. We knew the trains wouldn't run and that it was snowing before we left the house, and yet we left the house, and we complained.

BUT THEN WE ALSO HAD LOADS OF FUN! We went sledging using whatever we could find as a sledge, we walked through the hushed woods early in the mornings after fresh snow. We had snowball fights, and we built all manner of exciting snow sculptures. Newspapers, Twitter, and Facebook feeds were filled with great examples of snowmen, snowpugs, snow henges, snow Easter-Island heads, snowdragons, snow-Buzz Lightyears; people's imagination seemed to know no bounds, and, in some cases, no decency...

Tibetan snowcock, the eastermost species.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckaysavage/

Snowcocks are five species of bird in the genus Tetraogallus. They are related to partridges and pheasants which they  broadly resemble. The five species in range across the mountains and plateaus of Eurasia, from the Caucasian snowcock in the west to the Tibetan snowcock in the east. The birds live at altitude, sometimes migrating up and down mountains with the seasons.

All species are monogamous, with females incubating the eggs and males standing guard. When not incubating some species are social, forming mixed flocks, providing safety in numbers from their predators such as foxes and eagles.